Ultimate Asian Chicken Chopped SaladServes 5Ingredients:FOR THE CASHEWS:1-1/2 cup Raw, Whole Cashews1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds1 Tablespoon Black Sesame Seeds1/4 cup Water1/4 cup Sugar3 Tablespoons Honey1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper FlakesGenerous Pinch Of Kosher SaltFOR THE VINAIGRETTE:2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Ginger2 cloves Garlic, Minced2 Tablespoons Honey2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce (I Used Gluten-free Soy Sauce)FOR THE SALAD:2 cups Shredded Chicken6 cups Thinly Shredded Savoy Cabbage2 cups Thinly Shredded Red Cabbage1 Yellow Or Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Thinly Sliced1 cup Fresh Bean Sprouts1/2 cup Edamame Beans1/3 cup Cooked Peas10 Snap Peas, Sliced Into Thirds On The Bias1 Large Carrot, Peeled And Thinly Sliced On The Bias3 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced On The Bias1 Fresno Chile, Thinly Sliced (optional)Instructions:For the spicy honey sesame cashews:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a sheet pan with a sheet of greased parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine cashews and sesame seeds. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, combine water, sugar, honey and red pepper flakes with a generous pinch of kosher salt. Bring it to a simmer and let cook for 2–3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add cashews and seeds to the pot. Stir to coat the nuts and seeds and then place on the prepared sheet pan. Bake cashews and seeds at 350ºF for 15 minutes until golden, stirring every 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a fresh sheet of parchment paper and set aside to cool and firm up. Break the nuts apart when cool.
For the ginger sesame vinaigrette:
Add all of the ingredients to the jar of a blender and then puree on high until you have a smooth dressing. Set aside.
For the salad:
In a large bowl, add chicken, cabbages and all of the vegetables, then add the dressing and gently toss the salad to coat. Serve in bowls or transfer to a serving platter and top with cashews.Cook time: 20 MinutesPrep time: 20 Minutes

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Ultimate Asian Chicken Chopped Salad

Ever since I was a young child, whenever a restaurant offered an Asian or Chinese chicken salad—or anything else along those lines—I was sure to order it. In college, it was a daily lunch option, and I may have eaten it every day my entire young adult life. Even now, at a local lunch place near home, it’s what I order. Without fail. So you can say I’ve had quite a few of these salads in my day, and I consider myself pretty well-versed in all the different spins and directions it can be taken. But for all the variety available, I feel one thing is essential: that unique combination of sweet and savory, and if I’m lucky, a little spicy too! Armed with many years of Asian salad experience, I’m here to bring you what I think is the Ultimate Asian Chicken Chopped Salad!

You won’t find any canned tangerines (though of course, feel free to add them if you need them!) or fried wonton wrappers on top. What you will find is the best assortment of crunchy fresh vegetables and herbs, dressed in a tangy, sweet and spicy Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette. That dressing is good enough to bathe in, I swear. I like to add shredded chicken to this salad, but it’s completely delicious without it. When I do go meatless, I’ll sometimes add chunks of fresh avocado for a little extra something.

In place of fried wonton wrappers, I have something even better: spicy honey sesame cashews. Completely addictive, these rich and buttery toasted cashews get an extra dose of goodness when they are baked in a spicy and sweet honey glaze and sprinkled with crispy sesame seeds. So you really get a bit of every single type of flavor and texture in every bite.

I’ve brought this salad to two potluck-style dinners and it was a huge hit at both. I also make it for dinner sometimes, and you can do much of the prep work beforehand! Just assemble all of the salad ingredients and keep the dressing separate, then refrigerate everything and dole out single servings for lunch. Though I might eat more than a single serving for lunch, but it’s salad, so who cares, right?

Note: If you are trying to avoid soy, you can substitute coconut amino acids for soy sauce and omit the edamame, or replace it with something else.

For the spicy honey sesame cashews:Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a sheet pan with a sheet of greased parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine cashews and sesame seeds. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, combine water, sugar, honey and red pepper flakes with a generous pinch of kosher salt. Bring it to a simmer and let cook for 2–3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add cashews and seeds to the pot. Stir to coat the nuts and seeds and then place on the prepared sheet pan. Bake cashews and seeds at 350ºF for 15 minutes until golden, stirring every 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a fresh sheet of parchment paper and set aside to cool and firm up. Break the nuts apart when cool.

For the ginger sesame vinaigrette:Add all of the ingredients to the jar of a blender and then puree on high until you have a smooth dressing. Set aside.

For the salad:In a large bowl, add chicken, cabbages and all of the vegetables, then add the dressing and gently toss the salad to coat. Serve in bowls or transfer to a serving platter and top with cashews.

Heather

Heather Christo is a mom, wife, chef, blogger and author living in Seattle. She focuses on family meals and celebrations as opportunities to share love and joy through food. A Le Cordon Bleu trained chef, Heather worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco before opening her own catering company in Seattle. In 2007, she hung up her chef’s coat to start a family. As she immersed herself in caring for small children, she grew to understand the difficulty of feeding and nourishing a family under intense demands. Life with a husband and 2 young daughters provided new inspiration for Heather, who soon discovered new ways to make fast, nutritious and delicious meals that would be loved by all.
This inspired the launch of her blog in 2007, dedicated to elegant and approachable recipes for the home cook. In early 2014, Heather and her two young daughters were all diagnosed with severe food allergies, which led to a complete overhaul in the way they were eating and living. Now, every recipe that comes out of Heather’s kitchen is free of gluten, dairy and eggs, as well as many that are additionally nut, soy, and cane sugar free. Heather publishes six days a week and has 1400 recipes and counting on her web site.
She is the Author of Generous Table, easy and elegant recipes through the seasons, (KYLE books, 2013) and the upcoming Pure Delicious, 8 weeks and 200 Allergy Free Recipes to a New Normal, (Clarkson Potter, Spring 2016). And you can find her Heathermade allergen free baked goods in select Costco stores starting this fall.

For the spicy honey sesame cashews:Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a sheet pan with a sheet of greased parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine cashews and sesame seeds. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, combine water, sugar, honey and red pepper flakes with a generous pinch of kosher salt. Bring it to a simmer and let cook for 2–3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add cashews and seeds to the pot. Stir to coat the nuts and seeds and then place on the prepared sheet pan. Bake cashews and seeds at 350ºF for 15 minutes until golden, stirring every 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a fresh sheet of parchment paper and set aside to cool and firm up. Break the nuts apart when cool.

For the ginger sesame vinaigrette:Add all of the ingredients to the jar of a blender and then puree on high until you have a smooth dressing. Set aside.

For the salad:In a large bowl, add chicken, cabbages and all of the vegetables, then add the dressing and gently toss the salad to coat. Serve in bowls or transfer to a serving platter and top with cashews.